Putting the Human Element into This Year’s Solar Decathlon

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The deadline for this year's Solar Decathlon is rapidly approaching, when college will showcase energy-efficient solar home entries from 20 finalists in Orange County, California, this October.

During a short break from construction, Derek Ouyang, an architecture major and the project manager of Stanford's first-ever Solar Decathlon team, spoke about how his team discovered that, "It's not about engineering the perfect home - it's about designing a house that people love and helping them learn to lead more sustainable lifestyles." A lesson some technologists never learn.

The Stanford team is one of twenty finalists from the original 65 teams and 10,000 students competing on three competitions around the world: Solar Decathlon Europe 2012, Solar Decathlon China 2013, and the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2013.

The event will take place Oct. 3-13, 2013, at Orange County Great Park in Irvine, California. The competition houses will be open to visitors on eight days over two weekends. Public hours will be from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. Thursday, Oct. 3-Sunday, Oct. 6, 2013, and Thursday, Oct. 10-Sunday, Oct. 13, 2013.